At least 62 dead in Red Sea boat tragedy

Exhausted new arrivals recover on a beach after crossing the ocean to southern Yemen. Photo: SHS/A.S. Hussein/UNHCR

At least 60 African migrants have died attempting to cross the Red Sea to Yemen, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

The agency said that it had just learned of the tragedy which happened last Saturday.

Two Yemeni crew members also died.

It is the largest single loss of life this year of migrants and refugees trying to reach Yemen via the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Adrian Edwards is UNHCR Spokesperson in Geneva.

"We are still seeking information, but it is now confirmed that a boat carrying 60 people from Somalia and Ethiopia plus two Yemeni crew sank last Saturday in the Red Sea. The victims are reportedly buried by local residents after their bodies washed ashore near the Bab El Mandeb area which lies in the strait of Yemen's coast." (19")

The tragedy follows previous incidents earlier this year and brings the known total number of people who have died at sea while trying to reach Yemen to at least 121 so far in 2014.